With
new producers in place for the third season in 1973, the production
and setting of 'The New Dick Van Dyke Show' was moved to Hollywood.

The
entire supporting cast was dropped (except for the wife and kid) as
Dick became a network soap-opera actor, portraying 'Doctor Fairmont'
on a show called 'Those Who Care'. New regulars included: Richard Dawson
and Chita Rivera as the neighbors with Barry Gordon, Dick Van Patten,
Barbara Rush and Henry Darrow as the folks who worked on the fictional
soap-opera.

The
new format gave Dick Van Dyke a chance to do broader comedy. The scripts
continued to be strong and the supporting players worked well together.

An
odd thing occurred during the third season of 'The New Dick Van Dyke
Show.' CBS censors rejected a scene in an episode that had Dick and
Jenny's daughter walking in on them while they were having sex. All
of this happened off camera, of course. The result was an unprecedented,
funny and very human scenario; producer Carl Reiner insisted the scene
stay as written.

When
CBS refused to air the episode as delivered. Reiner quit, promising
never to produce another television show again. (A promise he didn't
keep - he produced and starred in the failed sitcom 'Good Heavens' in
1976 and 'The Alan Brady Show' in 2003). Reiner returned to making movies
- his first projects ('Oh, God' with George Burns and 'The Jerk' starring
'70's variety show veteran Steve Martin) were a huge smash hits. More
hit movies followed.

Now seen on Monday nights after 'Gunsmoke' and 'Here's Lucy', the show's
ratings were at respectable levels as well. Maybe not great, but CBS
was suddenly in a bind.

Lucille
Ball announced in 1973 that she was retiring from series television.
She had been the network's Monday night comedy anchor for eleven years
but the audience for Lucy's aging antics was shrinking fast. Suddenly,
CBS saw 'The New Dick Van Dyke Show' as a strong asset - after three
years the show was delivering a solid audience as well as prestigious
Emmy nominations.

To
the network's disappointment, Dick Van Dyke decided the daily grind
of a sitcom wasn't worth it without Carl Reiner producing. His contract
fulfilled, the comedian announced he was ending the series and leaving
again for the desert.

Dick
Van Dyke was unexpectedly lured back to television in 1976 when NBC
signed the versatile performer to a variety series, hoping to revive
the dying format with a star that could attract a wide audience.

"I
never had the chance to do a variety series, so I'm going to spread
myself out," Dick Van Dyke announced before embarking on his new show,
'Van Dyke and Company.' "I'm
not afraid to try anything on this. I'm too old to care about ratings.
I say, let's simply please ourselves. If it's to be fifteen shows and
out, so be it, and I'll go home and go sailing and the hell with television."